Dental HEADACHES!!!!

I am so very frustrated...

Pissed off angry!

I am just not sure where to point that anger at the moment.

Justin, my 16 yr old, has some severe orthodontic needs...

Extra teeth, bite out of alignment, and according to his doctor, this now can be considered a medical need and covered by insurance. We are on the Wisconsin Badger Care plan because of our financial situation....like many here in Wisconsin are.

All summer his doctor office, and I have been calling around trying to find an orthodontist that will 1: accept our insurance and 2: is accepting new patients....call after call to no avail.

Now let me take you back a few months when we were at the doctors office for his regular check-up. Justin, my eldest son, has always been incredibly self conscious about his appearance. This stems from years of being bullied in the public school system for his mild cerebral palsy that really only becomes obvious to others when doing physical activities like running, climbing and other forms of sports. Yes, kids are cruel.

Since that time Justin has been EXTRA aware of his appearance and how others see him. It's been years upon years of trying to erase damage that bullies can do to a child that sees life in black and white...no grey. He has made strides in rebuilding his self esteem....and then...yes, and then came adolescence and the dreaded teen years. Along with that came his once beautifully straight smile turning into a controlled frown hiding the newly crooked alignment of his teeth.

Now he only freely laughs at home and only when it's in front of Kyle and/or me.

He's afraid to approach new people out of fear of what look will be on their face when they see his teeth.

So, imagine his excitement when this past spring, his doctor told him he could have his teeth fixed and insurance would cover it. My son's face lit up...he smiled freely at the thought.

Then came time for the referral.........

"We will call you when we find an orthodontist to write the referral to," were the words we heard when we walked out of the doctor's office that day....words of hope.

One month later...

"We haven't found anyone yet...maybe you can call around too."


Two months later....

"Did you have any luck?"

Three months later......

"Mom, see...I will have to live with this for the rest of my life..."

Four months later.....

"Justin, I think I found someone..their website says they accept most insurances..."

Then the call was made....

"I'm sorry Justin, they do accept our insurance but we are out of their intake area and therefore we don't meet their criteria..."

Back to square one....

Back to looking at my son's frown....

Yes....

I am frustrated!

Pissed off angry!

The next step is to check the Milwaukee area....at least a 2 hour drive....and my car is on it's last leg..........

UGH!

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